A Romanian barman who was cleared of involvement in the £25million burglary at Tamara Ecclestone s mansion will walk free today – despite being caught with her Louis Vuitton handbag and Frank Lampard s Tag Heuer smart watch.
Emile-Bogdan Savastru, 30, was cleared of involvement in the celebrity burglary plot but convicted of attempting to conceal criminal property after he was arrested at Heathrow with the stolen items.
He was jailed for six months but will be released immediately because he has been kept in custody since January 30 last year.
Savastru, his escort mother Maria Mester, 47, security worker Sorin Marcovici, 53, and hotel concierge Alexandru Stan, 49, were accused of helping the burglars who flew from Italy to steal £25million in jewellery and cash from F1 heiress Ms Ecclestone s mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens in December 2019.
03:01 EDT, 15 December 2020
A series of multi-million-pound burglaries at celebrity homes could well become the subject of a Hollywood movie, a court was told yesterday.
Watches, jewellery and other valuables worth £26million were stolen from stars including Formula 1 heiress Tamara Ecclestone over 13 days, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Timothy Cray QC yesterday said the story was likely to be turned into a film named Fat Geese And Stupid Chickens.
Summing up the case, he said: I don t think it is too imaginative that one day the events we have all been [dealing] with are going to be turned into a movie. All the good stories are.
12:48 EDT, 15 December 2020
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The record-breaking Burglary of the Century at Tamara Ecclestone s mansion was an inside job by staff who left her vault door open, a court heard on Tuesday.
Sex worker Maria Mester, 47, her barman son Emile-Bogdan Savastru, 30, security worker Sorin Marcovici, 53, and Alexandru Stan, 49, are the alleged supporting cast to the burglars.
Gems and cash worth at least £26m were grabbed by thieves, who travelled from Italy to carry out three raids between 1 and 13 December last year, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
They escaped with at least £25m in jewellery from the Ecclestone home and also hit the homes of late Leicester City chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and Chelsea boss Frank Lampard.
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image captionThe homes of Frank and Christine Lampard, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and Tamara Ecclestone and her husband were all broken into last December
A £26m raid on the luxury homes of three celebrities is bound to become a Hollywood movie, a court has heard.
Watches and jewellery belonging to the football boss Frank Lampard, heiress Tamara Ecclestone and the family of tycoon Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha were among the items taken last December.
Prosecutor Tim Cray QC said the team of burglars needed back-up .
Maria Mester, Emil Bogdan Savastru, Alexandru Stan and Sorin Marcovici deny conspiracy to burgle.
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